IZZY
Oh,God, that growl.
It reverberated in my head on repeat, making me wonder if Fake Cam was still growling or if it was all in my mind. I was too lost in the memories of my past, of a night when Cam had made that exact sound as a prelude to saving me.
Only, he hadn’t been saving me at all. Not in the heroic sense, anyway.
He’d killed those men for standing in his way.
Because from the moment he’d first scented my blood, he’d wanted me.
And that was the night over a thousand years ago that he’d decided to take me. For good…
My father had always warned me not to walk alone in the dark. I should have listened. Oh, how I should have listened.
The weight bearing down upon me threatened to suffocate my very last breath. But still, I fought. Clawing. Screaming. Biting. I didn’t care that there were four of them and one of me. I didn’t care that my fight was futile. I didn’t care that this only angered the men more.
I simply refused to let this be my end.
My skirts were bunched up around my thighs, the two men at my legs trying to pull them up to my waist. I tried to kick them, but their strong grips were too much for my plight.
Damien!I longed to shout. But I knew he wouldn’t hear me. He was nowhere near home, having chosen to venture off to another part of the world with his new friends.
Friends he hadn’t wanted anywhere near me.
Friends he’d claimed were too dangerous for his dainty twin sister to truly meet.
I knew why. I’dknownsince the moment I’d first seen them.
But I would take a night with all of his unsavory acquaintances over what was happening to me right now.
The men joked about who would ravage me first while another encouraged my fighting response, causing the others to chuckle in amusement.
“She’s like a tiny bird determined to hold on to those innocent wings,” he mused. “I can’t wait to pluck her apart.”
I spat at them.
And a fist met my cheek, leaving behind a burn that radiated all the way to my soul.
“Don’t bruise her yet,” one of them snapped.
“She fuckin’ spat at me,” his friend shot back, his accent thick and suggesting he wasn’t from around here.
None of them seemed to be, actually. But they spoke my language just to ensure I understood their intent. Or perhaps to provoke my fear.
But all I wanted was to kill them.
When Damien finds out…I started to picture what he would do to these men, just to be rudely interrupted by the sound of my bodice ripping.
Another scream built in my throat, only to be smothered by a far more ominous sound. A rumble of some kind. One that scattered goose bumps down my arms and caused two of the men to still above me.
The one had his hand on my bare breast; the other had his palm around my throat. It left me feeling exposed and undecidedly vulnerable. Yet fresh air seemed to renew my spirit as both of them shifted their attention toward the growl, their brows furrowing.
Foreign words followed from one of the men near my legs. The other replied in a fluent tongue very different from my own. And then a third voice followed, deep and hypnotic, causing an unnatural intrigue to blossom deep within me.
I shivered. I wanted to know the owner of that voice. To see him. Which was so entirely wrong in my current predicament. I should be screaming, begging for help, demanding that these men release me, anything other than marveling over a stranger’s alluring voice.
More foreign dialogue followed, the two men at my legs leaving me abruptly to investigate the growl. I took advantage of their absence and attempted to pull my feet up to kick at the other two, but a smattering of liquid had me freezing on the cold, damp earth.
